LAKELAND, FLA.-- There's an old saying that goes, "It's not how you start, it's how you finish." The Fire baseball squad took this to heart last week as they dropped the first two games to the University of Rio Grande Red Storm before winning the final two contests to salvage the 2-2 series split.
Last Friday, the Fire dropped both games of the doubleheader to the Red Storm. Rio Grande plated a run in the second and third innings, and the Fire were able to answer back and tie the game in each of those innings, but Rio Grande took the lead for good in the top of the fourth via the 2-run long ball on their way to a 6-5 win.
In game two, nothing went to plan for Southeastern. After scoring a run in the bottom of the second, Rio Grande answered with 12 runs on their way to a 12-6 win.
Chris Mattison hit his second and third home runs over the year, as the junior belted a homer in each game of the doubleheader. The first baseman has gotten off to a scorching start to the year as he is batting .556 with 19 RBIs.
On Saturday, the Fire put their struggles of the night before behind them as they bounced back to split the series against Rio Grande with winning scores of 2-1 and 4-3.
Jace Herrera took the ball for game one and dominated the Red Storm over three shutout innings. The righty faced the minimum of nine batters and gave up one hit, which was subsequently erased via double play. Herrera also struck out four.
Dylan Jameson (1-0) earned the win with a scoreless sixth inning, and Mattison earned his first save of the year with a scoreless seventh as the Fire won 2-1.
Andres Cancio took the ball in game two and was sharp for the majority of his time on the mound, as the righty went 4.2 innings, giving up two runs, four hits, and striking out three.
Mattison sent a laser over the center field fence for his fourth homer of the year to give Southeastern a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third. With runners on the corners and one out,
Luis Diaz gave Southeastern the 4-3 walk-off victory with a single to center field.
Southeastern stands at 10-5 overall and are riding a modest two-game winning streak. The Fire will start Sun Conference play this weekend; the team will drive up to Thomasville, Georgia to take on the Thomas University Night Hawks in a three-game weekend series. Games one and two will take place Friday afternoon, and the final game will take place at noon on Saturday.
Thomas is 3-7 this year and 0-3 in conference play; currently, they are on a four-game losing streak after getting swept by USC-Beaufort by scores of 9-2, 12-3, and 4-3. The Night Hawks most recently lost to Georgia Southwestern, 13-2.
JR Cruess is leading the offensive attack for Thomas, as the catcher is batting .407; he has only struck out once this year.
Game times on Friday afternoon are at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. The last game on Saturday begins at noon. You can keep up with updates on Twitter by following @SEUFireBaseball.
